


Fighting Monsters

by orphan_account



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Agony, Angst, Angst and Drama, Angst with a Happy Ending, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Drama, F/M, Fix-It, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Ghost Anakin Skywalker, Force Ghost(s), Force Visions, Implied Sexual Content, Inappropriate Use of the Force, Jedi Finn (Star Wars), Kylo Ren Has Issues, Kylo Ren Needs a Hug, Kylo Ren Redemption, POV Kylo Ren, POV Multiple, POV Rey (Star Wars), Post-Canon, Redeemed Ben Solo, Rey Needs A Hug, Romance, Scavenger Rey (Star Wars), Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Sorry Not Sorry, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Spoilers, That's Not How The Force Works, The Force Ships It, Time Travel, True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:40:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21999895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: (Post TROS) Rey, after taking on the name of Skywalker, attempts to adjust to regular scavenger life once again. Her bond with Ben now broken, she is haunted by the emptiness left behind. This is not the end for Ben however. United with an unexpected ally, the force demands a sacrifice to be made in exchange for Ben to return to the mortal world; Ben has found himself in The World Between Worlds.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	Fighting Monsters

**Author's Note:**

> This story is the product of an idea I have had for many months now. After TROS, like many, I found my self very unsatisfied with the conclusion. I immediately recognized however, the end of TROS creates a perfect opportunity to attempt my creative expressionism. After I finish typing this, I will look to finish the outline of where exactly this story is headed. I have in my head, the main story beats where I want to take this thing. I have always had a passion for creative writing, but I have never attempted to actually write before. Now my equal passion for Star Wars and fantasy have driven me to begin my journey, as I look to pursue as a writer. I encourage all to leave feedback, good or bad. Feedback and criticism helps me grow as an author. (Just don't be rude) One thing I am confident in however, I know for a fact I can give Ben and Rey a far happier ending than the tragedy that JJ decided to deliver us. I am committed. Stick with me, and we will get to the end of this story, and we will get a happy ending for not only Reylo, but... other... fan favorites. Ha, Spoilers. Expect an update soon, as soon as I can finish the outline.
> 
> Thank you

"Ben."

This is the end. He knows it's coming, yet as he lay here on the cold ground with her in his arms, part of him is grateful. He wouldn't have it any other way.

The arena is dead silent. His body aches from his fall, and each breath he takes is a labored knife sliding in and out of his lungs. The dust around him is only just now beginning to settle, and the only sound that makes it to his ears is the labored breathing of both himself, and Rey. She is beautiful. Even as he had stumbled across the chamber to her lifeless body covered with cuts and bruises, he regarded her cold dead eyes. She was still so beautiful, and she always will be to him.

She smiles the widest smile he has ever seen, and places her hand on his cheek. Tears fill his eyes and so many things try to pry their way out of his mouth. He has so much to say, yet no time to give. His heart beat is beginning to slow, and his arms feel weak. However, long as she is there in his embrace, he will welcome death with remorse. Maybe if he had took his fathers hand that day on Star Killer base… Maybe things would be different now. Everything he has ever done has led him to this moment, and now he stares down at Rey like she is the only thing that has ever mattered in the universe. There was a sparkle buried within her eyes as she locked them with his.

She soaks in the deep pools of chocolate brown that are expressing nothing but unequivocal love. The intensity steals the beat of her racing heart, and a warm fleeting rise of tingles and soft vibrations fill her body. Despite that fact that Rey has never been in love, she was no fool to elude the obvious.

He feels his lips begin to turn upward, and he knows he made the right choice. Rey will always be worth it. Lost in his own thought, he regards her emotions curiously. It's a moment of confusion as she suddenly seems… unsure, nervous almost. The feeling is gone in an instant and replaced with resolve, and determination. Her hand hovers over his cheek, and she takes one look down at his lips. He is almost startled when she leans forward and captures his lips with her own. The surprise is gone in an instant and he reaches his arm around her to pull themselves closer. Their teeth came together with a clack, but he doesn't care. His other arm is firmly pressed on the back of her head and he can feel her soft lips shift as she hungrily consumes him. He responds by gently but resolutely pressing his hand against the back of her head to deepen their kiss.

He feels her slightly tremble in his arms, partly from her nervousness, and partly from the relief. He feels his fingers slip into one of the buns on the back of her head, and he takes a moment to regard the energy within the force. It's as if a bomb with a detonator stuck on one second for far too long had finally erupted in a supernova of feelings that had long been suppressed. This was long overdue, they both knew it. They had both tried to bury their feelings for one another, and they had both failed.

Failure has never felt so good.

He can feel himself fading much faster now, but that doesn't matter. For in this moment, he feels a new emotion strong, and true. He feels her love; she loves him. She loves him just as much as he loves her. For the first time Ben Solo fears death, not because he is afraid of what comes after, but because part of him knows this will be not only the first, but the last kiss they share. The moment feels like it will last forever, and for that he is happiest man in the galaxy. Even though the reality would last just a few more seconds, Ben tries to focus only on her. Her lips pressed against his. The way she stiffened up because she was nervous. The way she relaxed and melted into his embrace. Their bodies pressed against one another, in perfect unity.

A perfect Dyad

They part with a soft smack and he glances across at his partner, his soulmate, his equal, his Rey. Her lips red and swollen, a reminder of a moment gone too soon.

A scavenger from Jakku.

She looks back at him the same way he looks at her. As if the universe around them both is long gone, and they are all that remain. Her soft grin warms him to his very core, and wishes to savor this final moment for all eternity. Whatever comes next for him, if he can just hold on to this forever, he will be alright.

He's grinning ear-to-ear, a big toothy smile melts Rey's heart, and she knows she is loved. He loves her, and she loves him. For the first time in years Ben Solo is happy. Sitting there in Ben's arms, for the first time Rey feels at home.

You're not alone

Neither are you

He can no longer support himself upright, and he feels his vision begin to fade as his hand falls from her hair. For just a moment, he wonders what their lives would have been like, had he not perished. The thoughts abandon him as memories of his father, his mother, and even his uncle fill his mind.

They weren't all bad.

He feels Rey's confusion transition to understanding, then sadness, then into a silent agony. Her face falls, and her brow shrinks with concern as the tears start to form. His eyes fall shut, and the last thing he focuses on is the wide smile she gifted him, just moments before his passing. The last thing Ben Solo feels would not be the cold hard floor of the throne room.

No, Ben Solo still feels the tingle on his mouth of her warm lips on his.

______________________________

Tatooine was an all too familiar for Rey. Not that she had been there before, but after spending over a decade scavenging on Jakku, all desert planets become one in the same. She's sitting down by her makeshift camp, the fire beside her roaring with life. The suns had just hide behind the horizon and a brilliant purple hue had enveloped the sunset in front of her. BB-8 hums quietly, but remains still. She wonders if the droid is able to enjoy something as mundane as a sunset.

They had made several trips with her to Mos Eisley, the little guy often got lost in the crowds chasing womp rats through the markets. Since taking over as co-general, Poe had been spending less and less time in an X-wing, and more time sitting behind a desk. Politics definitely didn't suit him, but he was making it work; the galaxy needed him to work. He insisted she not be alone, and despite her protests, he insured her it would be best if she had a companion like BB-8.

"Look at the bright side, no more trees to crush my droid on Tatooine." Despite his hot headedness and an ego the size of a Star Destroyer, Poe's smile was enough to bring joy to even the dullest moments. Zori had been convinced to stick around for a while, and Rey couldn't blame her; she was a lucky woman.

The warm orange glow of the fire illuminates some things, but casts shadows on others. Despite the rising temperature, Rey finds herself cold. There's a shadow for everything. It's true, light always brings darkness. For Rey however, her shadow was gone. She sits and sorts through the components of an old speeder she had found at the moisture farm where Luke had grown up. Parts and pieces- some good, others bad, were scattered left and right on the sand around her.

She works on auto pilot not taking the time to do anything but breath. If she does, she will relive everything again and get lost in the shadow of a kiss she isn't even sure really happened. The only thing that keeps her grounded and reminds her of him is the black over shirt she has tucked snuggly in her robes. If she keeps it close to her, she will never really be separated. It's the only thing he left behind.

Besides her broken heart.

It had been a week since she had found herself- found her belonging. It had also been a week since she immediately lost it. She had lost Ben, her other self.

She had sat there on the stone floor what felt like hours. Just staring down at his clothes while the tears in her eyes made their way down her face like a river. She doesn't remember when, but at some point she had blacked out. The next thing she had realized, she was hunched over in a ball clutching the black fabric in her tight fists. She let out a shrill cry of agony and sobbed. She sobbed his name like a prayer. If she focused hard enough, she could pull him back from where ever he went. They could be together. They had each other, and if one was gone, what were they left with?

She tried to focus on the bond. Their invisible tether that bridged their souls from across the stars. Over the past year it had been a rope that linked their minds together, but now it felt much more like a rope that was notched around her neck squeezing the life out of her.

He was gone.

There was nothing there. She couldn't feel him anymore, not like she used to. Their bond was gone. The empty chasm of hollowness she felt was enough to send her to the ground as another wave of tears burst from her eyes. You don't really notice how used you are to something always being there until its gone, then you never get used to the feeling of it's absence.

Now as she clutches the fabric in her hands on Tatooine, she can't help but feel her anguish creeping back up on her again. BB-8 rolls over and nudges her leg with a soft whine. She looks up and gives the droid a weak smile.

"I'll be alright, I promise." She reaches out and plucks the bent antenna from it's metal head and adjusts it before returning it in an all too familiar manner.

She hates crying in front of the droid. Sometimes she thinks BB-8 understands her emotions much more acutely than others. Sometimes she even thinks the little guy understands grief better than she does. Although how exactly, she has no idea.

"BB, could you run back to the Falcon and see if I left the wrench set on the Dejarik table?" She nods to the grey ship in the distance with a small grin.

The droid lets out a questioning series of beeps… but obliges.

Always so loyal.

It hurts her heart as she watches the droid's head spin around with a snap and begin to roll towards the ship, but she just can't handle company right now. She sits up and leans over to cover the set of tools that BB-8 isn't going to find with sand, and leans her back against the skeleton of the speeder she was working on. It's not as good as the one she built on Jakku, but it would have to work.

Rey's ears perk up when she hears the familiar buzz of her comlink connecting her to her friends back at the resistance base. With nothing left to resist, the "resistance" had begun to transition back to peaceful living. The New-Republic was gone, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't start to build another one. It would be a very difficult task to rebuild some sense of government and order in the galaxy- something far less authoritarian was in order. As she takes the cylindrical communication device out of her satchel, she regards the red flash of it's indicator light with conflict. She hasn't spoken a word to them since the day she left. She just jumped out of her X-wing and embraced Finn, and Poe in exhaustion. The tears couldn't be held back as they stood there in victory, but her friends knew not for whom she wept.

______________________________

She had dismissed herself from her friends quickly, despite the concerned look from both Finn and Poe. They watched her through the sniffles and red face. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and shimmied her way through the crowd. It was hard to avoid the faces of all the happy people running past her, and slapping her on the back in celebration. There were tears, hugs, and kisses shared between everyone. All the while nobody knew who really saved them. As hard as it was to admit, she really was going to strike her grandfather down. She had made a promise to do whatever it took to save the ones she cared about. Who knows where she would be had she given into her anger. The resistance, and Rey, all owed everything they had accomplished to the same man they feared. Except, he wasn't the same man. Only she knew the truth.

Poe's brow shrinks with concern. He watches Rey continue to weep to herself from a distance as she scurries away like an injured animal. He places his hand on Finns shoulder, and leans in to whisper.

"Something's up." Shaking his head he can't help but be worried.

Finn had sensed it immediately after they had embraced. Rey wasn't as happy as she should be, and she certainly wasn't relieved about anything. He had spent a lot of time with Rey ever since they met, she had her dull moments. There were times when she was sad, angry, confused, and happy all at once. In all these time however, he had only felt her grieve three times: Han's death, Leia's death, and right now. His curiosity rises to match his concern.

"I've never seen her so upset, even after I broke the radar dish off the Falcon during the last prison run on Yavin." Poe continues with a flamboyance which comes naturally with his bravado. "Things got pretty dicey down there, she's probably exhausted."

Finn turned his head and made eye contact with his pilot friend before him. Rey was just as much of a leader as Leia was. She wasn't only their best fighter, she was the most compassionate out of all of them. Concerned mirrored both of their faces for their friend.

"I need to talk to her, alone." Finn chimed quickly

Poe only nods and takes a moment to absorb his surroundings. With a deep sigh he can't help but chuckle to himself. "I can't believe it; the First Order is gone." He shoots a wide smile and gestures to the people running around.

"They can all go home, back to their families!" His eyes soften and he nods a gentle affirmation "We don't have to be soldiers anymore Finn."

Finn's eyes fall behind his friend and he notices Rose embrace Lieutenant Connix. They are both giddy with excitement and running around sharing the love with everyone. Celebrations were definitely in order. Lando and Jannah are busy laughing like two long lost friends, and he can't help but feel a strange melancholy.

"Poe…" Finn thinks about his next words carefully, and takes a deep breath as he can still feel Rey's anguish rolling over him in waves. "You said we can go home to our families, but for a lot of us, this is our family."

He pats the man on the back and gives his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, before making his way into the open running past Maz, Chewie, and the happy sounds of laughter as he searches for signs of Rey. Behind him, he feels the eyes of Dameron bore into the back of his head. He is lost in thought, and buried in conflict.

______________________________

Placing the com back in her lap, she makes a mental note to run back to the Falcon in the morning to check the transmissions. Everyone must be worried about her, but she just can't face them right now. The last thing she wants is to break down at the first question of what happened that day. They needed to know about Ben, their bond, everything she had worked so hard to suppress. Kylo Ren died on Kef Bir, but Ben…

Imagining the confused faces on Poe, Finn, and Rose as she would try to explain that Ben Solo was the hero of resistance- it's not a fun thought.

"Why do you care about him so much anyway?"

They would never understand. The bond they shared was the last piece of a one-million piece puzzle that would never be found. Hiding the bond over the past year had been difficult. Many times one would appear to the other, and cause the other to go completely silent. In the mess hall, during war-room briefings, working in the repair shop, it was a consistent event that they had both begun to anticipate. They rarely shared words, but now she believes that was because they were both hurt. Their connection had become almost comforting to one another, even though they had different visions for each other at the time. When they had touched hands on Acht-To, she had seen various flashes and snaps of events and moments yet to come.

In each vision, he had been there right beside her. The last thing she had seen before Luke had interrupted their intimacy, was the wide smile of the man in front of her- the most beautiful smile. It was almost as if she could feel his hand on the back of her head. There had been a brief glimpse of what was to come on Exogol, and she wonders if he had seen the same.

She runs her hands across his shirt again, and her hand finds the hole in the seam. A small hole half the size of her fist. Her eyes wander up to the sky above and she starts to count the stars as they flicker. "Be with me… Be with me…" Her eyes flutter shut, and she focuses on the empty feeling in her core, the spot where Ben Solo used to reside. "Ben, please be with me."

Her voice breaks and her face becomes pained.

"Please Ben, come back to me, wherever you are." Nothing but the soft breeze of the dry desert air responds, and in this moment Rey is alone. A small cry escapes her mouth as she buries her face in her arms.

The hole in Bens shirt is a reminder. A reminder of what she did for him, and what he did for her. She healed him on the Death Star ruins, and part of her wants to believe she healed more than his saber wound. When her dead eyes were opened on Exogol, she saw Ben, not Kylo Ren. For a brief moment she had been confused, and disoriented. Once the haziness had cleared, she realized who was holding her. The man she wanted, the man she had confessed she wanted, had came back for her and fought through his own knights to get back to her. That man had been drained of all his life force, yet he climbed out of a pit he had been flung in just for her.

She had been face-to-face with death, but instead was face to face with the man she loved. He was the man she knew was underneath that mask the whole time. It was only then that she noticed as she touched his face, she had also healed the scar she had given him on his face so long ago. Unfortunately, Rey will never heal from the scar that Ben Solo left on her the day that he left her.

The scar he left on her heart.

Now all she has is his shirt. It's on the nights that she wears it to bed, tosses and turns, and succumbs to the nightmares of his dying face, that she craves for his touch. Her hands always find the hole over her abdomen and she is reminded of what she knew all along. Ben solo was there underneath the armor all along. Underneath the mask and the anger, was a man so in love he was willing to die so that she could live.

Those are the nights she cries the hardest.

______________________________

First there's nothing, then there's something. He has no idea where he is but everything around him is screaming with the force. Maybe he is the force. The last thing Ben remembers was the image of Rey and her wide smile, then their kiss, then nothing, and now this.

Whatever this is.

He is standing up, but he doesn't remember ever moving to this position in the first place. Ben looks down at his body and his brow scrunches in confusion.

He was wearing robes, but not black robes. He looks around for anyone, or anything to try and make sense of where he is, but there is nothing. Absolutely nothing…Just the light, an energy so intense it surrounds everything and radiates a sense of calm and ease. It's very peaceful, but there is something familiar that's nipping at the back of his mind. He can't quite place the feeling and runs a hand through his hair which was now perfectly dry and neat, as if he had just washed it.

"What the hell?" He all but whispers to himself

"Not quite, the opposite actually."

He whips around, startled by the noise. There in front of him, about 10 paces ahead, was a young man with light blue eyes, and light brown hair. He is illuminated by a light blue glow. The two stare at each other for just a moment, and Ben begins to slowly make his way towards the other man.

This is familiar and he knows it. This man, he's seen him before. Or maybe he hasn't, he can't be sure. Regardless there is a feeling of familiarity radiating from the mans sly grin and the way his hair extends like the waves of the ocean. Ben swallows hard, and for a moment, it's as if he is looking in a mirror. A feeling unexplainable almost as if he was feeling nostalgic washes over him. He is just a few steps away from him now, and Ben's eyes widen in a mix of recognition and disbelief.

"Grandfather?" He is almost afraid of what comes next.

"Hello Ben." Anakin responds with a wide toothed grin.


End file.
